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To: Hawkmoon who wrote (27639)	2/3/1999 9:16:00 AM
From: Hawkmoon	Respond to of 116806

washtimes.com Highest court in Russia suspends death penalty -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Anna Dolgov ASSOCIATED PRESS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MOSCOW ussia's highest court banned all courts in the country yesterday from handing down death sentences until the jury system is adopted throughout Russia. The ruling means an effective abolition of the death penalty, said Constitutional Court spokeswoman Anna Malysheva. Introducing the jury system will take years, and Russia is likely to deliver on its promise of banning the death penalty before then, she said. "Starting today, we effectively have no death penalty," she said. Russia promised to abolish the death penalty when it joined the Council of Europe in 1996 but so far has only enacted a moratorium on carrying out death sentences. Capital punishment has remained on the books, and courts have continued to sentence people to death -- even though nobody has been executed since August 1996, according to the government. Meanwhile, Russia has also been trying to adopt the jury system, but so far only nine of the country's 89 regions have it in place. The Moscow region -- but not the city of Moscow -- is one of those that do. Russia's Constitutional Court ruled yesterday that until all regions have adopted the system, no death sentences may be passed anywhere in the country. And the chronically cash-strapped Russian government is expected to take years to introduce the jury system. "The government doesn't even have money to maintain the court system as it is," Miss Malysheva said. "And the jury system is an expensive luxury. It will be put off for many years to come, I think." Until the jury system is introduced, no death sentences may be handed down -- even in the regions that already have the jury system, she said. Like all rulings by the Constitutional Court, the death penalty ban is final and may not be overruled by any other body. However, it can't be applied retroactively to the roughly 800 people currently on death row in Russia --most of whom were tried without a jury. The death-row inmates may have their sentences commuted by the presidential clemency commission -- a common practice in Russia --but the process won't be automatic. The Constitutional Court ruling came in response to an appeal last year by three death-row inmates who complained about having been tried and sentenced without a jury, Miss Malysheva said. The Russian Constitution states that people suspected of especially grievous crimes have the right to a jury trial. President Boris Yeltsin wants to outlaw the death penalty, but his efforts have been blocked by the Communist-dominated parliament, which argues that capital punishment is needed as a deterrent to the country's rampant crime. Polls show that most ordinary Russians also support capital punishment. ***************************************** Translation: (the wife speaks Russian...:0) Death penalties are suspended, but "disappearances" are still authorized in special cases. Why destroy all that free labor when we have so many natural resouces to be exploited in Siberia, particularly gold, platinum, and silver?? Regards, Ron

To: Hawkmoon who wrote (27639)	2/3/1999 9:24:00 AM
From: Paunch	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116806

Ron, If you think that there is no inflation you need to get the price for an average room addition to your house. Five years ago I could build you an addition of 256 sq. ft. for about $ 5,000.00 the cost is now about $ 8,500.00 and that amounts to more than 10% per year. I have been in the building trades for 30 years and the cost has gone up 1000 % since I began and most of that increase has been in the last 10 years. Paunch

To: Hawkmoon who wrote (27639)	2/3/1999 9:34:00 AM
From: John Hunt	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116806

Re Thank you for the interesting article from Worldnutdaily Ron, Your first line says it all ... you must be living inside the Beltway. Tell the pork farmers, the oil workers, the miners, the steel workers, etc, etc, etc how great it is, to say nothing of the people starving all over the world as economy after economy bites the dust. The lower prices are the result of economies crashing and desperate people selling anything at any price, not efficiency ... just wonderful and short term. Where do you think people are going to get the money to buy US products when the bloated US and European markets finally crash? ... but then again, if we believe your hype, they never will. Just borrow more and spend more and all will be great ... common sense says that would work for an individual or a state, right? IMHO, you are looking at the world through very rosy glasses. BWDIK. John